


A Light in the Room, It Was You Who Was Standing There

by joooooooo_e



Series: stringing together memories for you and i to look over someday [1]
Category: Sense8 (TV)
Genre: AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-10 05:10:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11120595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joooooooo_e/pseuds/joooooooo_e
Summary: chance made us neighbours, choice made us friends (and we're still figuring out how to be lovers)





	1. Chapter 1

“Kala, this apartment is amazing!” Her sister, Daya, exclaimed loudly for what seemed like the hundredth time today. She twirled around the balcony and ran to the kitchen, grasping Kala’s shoulders and shaking her. Daya’s laugh was so infectious and she was so excited that Kala couldn’t help but feel it too.

“Thanks, Daya.” She smiled and hugged her sister.

She turned to her father, who was busy cooking in the kitchen (even after Kala told him, _It’s okay dad. You’re on holiday, honestly_ ) – the spices for the curry wafting through the entire house. “What do you think, dad? Work has its perks, no?”

Her father chuckled. “Yes, dear. It’s quite nice, and I’m glad it’s so near to where you work. I know you like working late nights, and I wouldn’t want for my eldest daughter risking her safety by living so far.”

“Sanyam,” her mother walked out of her bedroom and stepped into the kitchen space, turning on the ventilator to alleviate the aromatic smells, “Kala is fine. She’s lived in apartments much further from work and look how she turned out.” She regarded Kala with a warm smile. “She will be fine here in Berlin.”

“I know, Priya.” He looked at her before glancing at Kala; turning back to the stove, he said, “I just wish work was closer to our home, you know?”

Her mother and sister both hummed sadly, and Kala felt the sudden urge to cry. “Me too. But this promotion means so much to me and –

“And we’re very proud of you, darling.” Her mother sniffed, her eyes shining with tears. “So, let’s not stand here and be sad, okay? We’re happy to have you and Daya be so successful in your careers.” She moved to sit on the dining table that was set up earlier.

“Come on,” she beckoned for Kala to sit down, “Dad’s almost done. We can eat.” Daya squeezed Kala’s shoulder and sat down next to her.  
  


…  
  


Kala came back from the airport late in the afternoon, and couldn’t believe she was coming back to her apartment looking an absolute mess: there was wrapping paper strewn everywhere after Kala unwrapped the house warming presents her parents had gotten her; plates and cups still on the table; pots and pans on the coffee table and on the living room floor as Daya showcased the presents with a beam on her face.

She smiled sadly, knowing that she won’t see her family for a while. Even though Kala doesn’t start work for a few more weeks, she couldn’t ask her family to drop their lives back in India and keep her company – even though they would actually do it if she asked. Instead of crying about it, she heeded her mother’s advice and tried to not be sad. Come on, she thought, _you’re in Berlin, in a brand new apartment! Life is working out for the better._ She got out rubbish bags and began cleaning up the place. _Time to make this feel like home._

After a while, she felt suddenly tired from all the different emotions she had gone through today. She yawned. “I’ll just take a quick nap and finish cleaning up later.” She nodded at the empty apartment and lay down on the couch, feeling content to be sleeping on the fluffy cushions.  
  


…  
  


It was the thumping of a heavy and solid force on her door that stirred her awake. The darkness of the apartment made the situation even more eerie, and she slowly got up from the couch and navigated her way to the front door. Her arms were stretched out and moving wildly, trying so hard not to bump into anything. She stopped when her toe made contact with something, and she slowly crouched down and picked up the object. _Yes!_ She thanked the gods for being on her side. It was a frying pan her mum gave her as a gift to celebrate her new home. She clutched it more tightly when the thumping sound was replaced with a jingling of keys, and her lock not betraying the door to a key that wasn’t hers.

With her back against the wall, she tried to look out the window and find out who the perpetrator was. But the curtains were obscuring her vision and she didn’t want to risk being seen first. Her heart was beating so fast, but she tried to think as calmly and coolly as possible – not wanting the situation to escalate. Although as soon as the door swung open and the figure stepped in, she gave in to the instinctive reaction to swing the pan in their direction.

“Ow!” A male voice half-yelled and half-whispered as the pan made contact with their body. “What the fuck are you doing?!”

That got her. “What do you mean what am I doing?” She berated him, “This is my apartment.” She’s inching towards the lights witch on the wall, if she reaches out just a little more, she could flick it on.

The man scoffed back at her, “Your apartment?” Although it was dark and he knew she couldn’t see him, he shook his head at her. “Lady, I think you are even more drunk than I am.”

She’s still blindly hunting for the light switch as she haughtily snapped back, “I’m not drunk!” _Aha!_ She felt the tiny bump on the wall and flicked the lights on, and whatever she was prepared for went through the window.

In front of her stood a man with dusty-blonde hair and the most intense blue eyes she’s ever seen, sporting a smirk on his face. Perhaps the fact that shocked her the most was that the man that was currently standing in the middle of her apartment was stark naked. _And shameless!_ She didn’t know what was going on. She was in hysterics and was getting lightheaded, that she didn’t register the man’s face falling and getting concerned. Her legs gave way and her eyes slowly closed as she fell down.

Kala heard the man utter a loud, “Shit,” before she lost consciousness.  
  


…  
  


As he closed the door behind him, he saw a figure a few doors down that resembled his flatmate, and muttered a low, “Felix.”

“Wolfgang,” Felix turned away from unlocking the door, and barely tried to contain the amusement from his voice, “what’s going on? Our apartment is this way.”

And before he could say anything, he saw Felix take one glance at his naked state and could imagine the wheels turn in his head. “Are you serious?!” He pointed at the door where Wolfgang came out. “Our neighbour has barely been living here for a week and you’re doing her?” He shook his head with half-hearted disappointment. “I never took you for a walk-of-shame kind of guy, though.”

Wolfgang slowly looked between Felix and the door he was motioning to, and scrunched his face in confusion. “What? No I didn’t do anyone.”

The look Felix gave him was disbelieving, proud and smug all at once. “My friend, it certainly looks that way.”

Wolfgang smirked back. “No, this was Steiner’s dare.”

“Steiner?” Felix gaped. “The one that said ‘your dicks are gonna shrivel’ to us at your uncle’s funeral five years ago? _That_ Steiner?” The disgust wasn’t spared in his tone, which made Wolfgang laugh.

“Yeah,” he looked at Felix pointedly, “that one. I bet against him finding a girl to take home, and lost.”

“Hm,” Felix tilted his head to the side in consideration, “you were always shit at bets.” He walked the few steps towards Wolfgang and clapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, man. Let’s get you inside before you get the cops called on us again. I don’t know about you, but Felix Bernner is not in the mood to get an indecency charge.”  
  


…  
  


Kala woke up feeling disoriented, and kicked away the soft blankets that covered her body –

 _Wait_. _How did I get into bed?_ She looked at the clock silently ticking on her bedside table. It read 10:05 AM. _It’s daytime?_ The last thing she remembered was –

“Oh no.” She hurried out of bed and briskly walked to the dirty kitchen, which was now clean and void of the paper plates and rubbish bags that were scattered from the night before. “Oh no, no, no, no, no. No. No.”

She tried to formulate a narrative that would explain what happened after she fainted to how she was currently standing in a spotless kitchen.

 _Was he a thief?_ Kala looked around, and when she saw nothing was out of place or was missing, she moved on to the next possibility.

 _Okay, so he wasn’t a thief. Did he live in the building?_ She deduced that yes, he did, because why else would he have a key that could open her front door? _What kind of key that unlocks a different door work on her door? Unless he was the landlord_ –

The buzzing of her doorbell took Kala out of her thoughts, and she must have a stupefied look on her face, because the person on the other side of the door warily held up a carton holder with two cups of coffee, like some kind of peace offering.

“Hello, again.” He said with a slight smirk on his face.

Livid, Kala grabbed his arm and roughly pulled him in to her apartment. She shut the door as quietly as she could and turned to him. “You!” She pointed at him with an accusatory finger. “What are you doing here?”

He set the drinks down on the coffee table to massage the part of his arm that she grabbed. “You are a lot stronger than you look.” He didn’t miss how she looked a little flattered at the comment, the tick of her jaw in amusement the only sign of her cautiousness easing up a little.

“Listen.” he grabbed the drink labelled ‘Ch’ and handed it to her, nodding in encouragement to take it and held in a sigh of relief when she took it. “I’m sorry about last night. I was a bit drunk and couldn’t get my key to unlock the door, so I used my master key and it turns out it wasn’t even my apartment.”

She contorted her face as if she misunderstood what he said. “You have a master key? How do you have one? I thought only landlords were meant to own that.”

He shook his head. “My flatmate and I work at a key shop in the city. The landlord gets the keys for this building made there, so we made extra just in case.”

Kala did not want to know what the “just in case” part meant, so she decided not to ask. “That still doesn’t explain why you were naked at four in the morning.” She looked at him with disapproval. “I honestly thought you were an apparition that was sent to me by the gods and goddesses.” She was pacing now as rambled on, still carrying the cup of warm liquid in one hand. “But then I thought to myself, I haven’t done anything wrong, so why am I being sent a demon that isn’t wearing any clothes?” She was about to speak further, but stopped at the full-blown grin that was on his face.

“What?”

He shrugged. “Germans are not so uptight about nudity.” He took a sip from his drink.

She let out a noise of disbelief. “This is not about nudity, okay?” The hand that wasn’t holding anything motioned around her apartment. “This is about privacy. And decency.” She glared at him.

He sat down on the coffee table, leaning forward to relieve some of his weight from the table as he looked up at her. “If you were so concerned about privacy and decency, why did you look?” He raised one eyebrow at her in pure amusement as she tried to come up with an answer.

She flushed and turned her head to the side, and mumbled a soft, “I did not.”

He grinned again. And Kala could not believe that the loudest thought in her head was how mesmerising his smile was.

“Yes, you did.” He winked at her, and was gratified at seeing the blush on her face. “But it’s okay, you don’t have to admit it if you don’t want to.”

She rolled her eyes in good nature, the blush dying down on her cheeks. She took her first sip of the drink, fully expecting the bitter taste of black coffee, but was surprised to taste the sweetness of, “Chai tea?” She lifted her cup slightly and tilted her head at him in question.

He looked down briefly as he responded, “Uh, yeah.” He looked her in the eyes. “I hope that’s okay. I saw the box of chai tea bags when I was cleaning up last night…”

She nodded enthusiastically in gratitude. “It’s great. Thank you.” She takes a sip again, letting the spices coat her tongue and the liquid to warm her stomach.

It was quiet for a moment, until Kala said quietly, “You didn’t have to. Clean up, I mean. Thank you. I really appreciate it.” She really did. She’s lived in many different cities, with many different neighbours and flatmates, and none of them ever really cleaned up without being prompted or begged.

“It’s no big deal,” he replied nonchalantly, “it’s the least I could do for a neighbour I scared into passing out.”

She giggled, and again the conversation lapsed and they were back to silence. Wolfgang took his coffee and made to get up from his makeshift seat. She put her tea down and followed him to the threshold of her apartment, door open and letting the sunlight in.

“Well, once again I’m sorry about our first encounter. I’ll see you around, neighbour.” He gave her a quick salute, and nodded his head before he walked out.

“Kala.” He stopped and turned to her. “My name is Kala.” She said with a smile.

He smiled back. “I’m Wolfgang.”


	2. Chapter 2

Wolfgang knocked on the door with his left hand, eyes still trained on the pile of mail he held on his right. _Kala Dandekar_  – the letters were addressed to, but somehow it was wedged into his tiny mailbox, which was one slot above hers.

“Coming!” He heard faintly from inside.

He sorted through the envelopes quickly, trying to deduce his new neighbour from where her mail came from. The first few had handwritten addresses and several stamps, from India. He smiled. The next were mundane: a letter from the landlord (although why the damn landlord couldn’t remember where their new tenant lived, Wolfgang couldn’t explain), a couple of flyers and catalogues, but the last one caught his attention. It was a letter from Rasal Pharmaceuticals. _Huh_.

The door opened and she stepped forward. “Wolfgang, hello.” She beamed up at him.

He smiled back, extending his hand to present her with the mail that was wrongly delivered to him. “These are yours, I believe.”

She looked at it and went, “Oh!” She took them from him and flicked through them. “Thank you so much! I was wondering why I haven’t been getting mail. My work sent important documents for me to sign, and I start in a few days. Gosh, I hope they don’t think I’ve been delaying.”

“You work at Rasal Pharmaceuticals? Sorry, I looked through them.” He had the decency to admit it.

“Yes,” she laughed, “I got promoted from our Indian main office and into the new Berlin branch, along with a few other people from the clinical pharmacology department.”

“Wow.” He was genuinely surprised. She was not just beautiful, but intelligent, too. He was proud of her, but at the risk of sounding weird, he kept that to himself.

She blushed at the tone of his voice, but had the presence of mind to ask, “Would you like to come in for a coffee?”

“Sure” he walked in, and sat on the couch (which was much comfortable than his, Wolfgang noted) while she dropped the mail on the kitchen table. While she was preparing their drinks, he looked at his surroundings.

For someone who had only lived here for a few weeks, the apartment felt like it had been occupied for years. Wolfgang couldn’t explain what he was feeling, but could think of only one word to describe it: comfortable. His apartment was empty in comparison to hers. And where his apartment was a drab shade of grey ( _it’s a soothing colour_ , Felix told him) and exposed brick, hers was wooden panelled and a refreshing ivory that looked resplendent with the rays of light shining through windows that had the curtains drawn back.

There were frames of different sized hanging everywhere, the closest being the one perched on top of the coffee table. He grabbed it to take a closer look: it was a picture of a young Kala with who he guessed as her family, her mom, dad and her sister. He placed the photo back when he heard her speak up.

“Milk? Sugar?” She was too busy to notice him being the creep he was.

“No, thanks.”

“Okay.”

He snuck a glance at the corner of the living room, where a golden statue was decorated with orange and yellow flowers. Upon a longer inspection, he saw that it had the head of an elephant but the body of a man. He was so intrigued that he didn’t see her walk up him with two steaming mugs and a wide smile on her face.

“That’s Ganesha. The lord of new beginnings and remover of obstacles.”

He studied her beloved Ganesha a little longer, a slight chill running down his spine at the thought of a god who looked into his soul and mind. He couldn’t help from slipping out, “Gods don’t give a shit about us.” He winced as he looked at her and added by way of apology, “I speak from experience.”

She tilted her head as she handed him the cup of coffee. “Why do you feel this way?” She placed her own cup – _of chai tea_ – on the table and sat down next to him.

“I don’t know,” he sipped his drink, “I guess the things that have happened in my life aren’t exactly what you call miracles.” He hoped she wouldn’t press him to elaborate.

She hummed softly and looked at her god with a small smile. “Every day of my life,” she turned to him, “and yours too, little miracles happen. You may not know it then, but Ganesha listens, and delivers. I’ve always known since the festival.”

She turned back to her prayer table, the residual smoke from the incense forming a cloud around Ganesha that it took Wolfgang aback.

She could remember it vividly. “I was at Vinayaka Chaturthi with my family…”  
  


…  
  


_“Mommy! Mommy!” Kala was lost. She dodged through the crowd as best as she could, trying to catch a glimpse of her mother’s bright blue sari. She managed to get through to a relatively empty spot on the corner of the street, when someone grabbed her hand._

_It was Subhash from school. “Come,” he dove into the crowd again, this way!”_

_They stopped in front of a giant float resembling an elephant-man, and Kala giggled. “What is this?” He said nothing and crawled inside, she followed. The inside was covered in old newspapers that Kala recognised as the same ones she would read at Dad’s restaurant every morning._

_“Do you want to see what he sees?” He asked._

_“What who sees?” She asked in return._

_“Ganesha.” At her puzzled look, he clambered up the ladder excitedly. “Come on!”_

_She laughed, and followed him. Once at the top, he pointed at a large hole, cut out just so the light comes in. “Look through there!”_

_She meant to take a quick peek, but she stood still and watched with wide eyes. She was absolutely awed at the sheer number of people in attendance. Everywhere she looked there were people: women shouting in joy and dancing in circles, men clapping each other on the back chanting hymns of praise, children laughing and playing and enjoying the vibrancy of the celebrations._

_It was overwhelming. To see such life and goodness.  
_

  
…

 

“It made me a believer.” She took a deep breath and looked at him.

He let her words sink into his head, trying to understand her.

“But you’re a scientist.” He said with scepticism.

“I am,” she said without hesitation, “but my love for science doesn’t preclude my faith.” She closed her eyes and continued, “To me, science is just another language we use to talk about the same miracles that faith talks about.”

“But…one language makes sense, and one doesn’t.”

“Sense?” She opened her eyes and looked at him quizzically. “What, like, quantum physics? Like a particle that can be here and _not_ here?” Her eyes dropped down to his lips. “Or sense like gravity?” She spoke more slowly this time, each word heavy with meaning. “A force that no one knows why exists. Only that if it didn’t exist,” she leaned forward slowly, “if there wasn’t this mysterious attraction…”

Wolfgang gulped, suddenly dizzy at their close proximity. She continued, “…this pull between objects,” she stopped just a few centimetres away from his lips, “then none of this would exist either.

“Thank god for gravity,” he breathed out.

“Exactly,” she whispered back.

They reached for each other at the same time, but as Kala turned her body to face him properly, her knee made contact with the table with a force so sudden that she knocked both mugs over. She inwardly cursed as warm liquid spilled all over the surface and onto the floor. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

She reluctantly pulled back and grabbed a handful of paper towels to start wiping the mess. Not wanting to feel useless, and trying to dispel some of the tension, Wolfgang picked up the mugs and placed them in the sink.

He turned to Kala, who had an apologetic look on her face, and shook his head as if to say, _don’t worry about it_. She seemed to understand. He nodded, more to himself, and began to walk out and return to his apartment. He smiled at her as he left, and was relieved when she smiled back. He held back a groan of frustration. He was so ready to kick himself for not kissing her. _Why Wolfgang? Seriously? Why didn’t you?_

He didn’t see Kala’s face fall into a disappointed frown.


	3. Chapter 3

“Psst!”

Kala ignored it, instead leaning further against the balcony railing and taking in her surroundings with a deep breath. She learned that the best way to get strangers to go away was to not be mindful of them.

“Psst! Hey!”

She was beginning to think she needed a better tactic.

She turned to the source of the noises, and saw a lanky man standing two balconies away with a bottle in his hand, and raised it to her. “You’re the new neighbour?”

“Yes.” She gave him a small smile.

“Are you out here watching Pyronale too?” He asked, pointing the lip of his bottle at the event venue, the Olympiastadion Berlin, which was in perfect view from their apartment balconies.

“I am, actually.” She nodded. “My friends said it’s an event not to be missed in Berlin.”

“And may I ask why aren’t you with your friends at the stadium right now?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, “they didn’t really invite me. And I didn’t want to intrude and ask to come, you know?”

He nodded in sympathy. “Some friends they are, I’d be pissed if that happened to me. I’m Felix, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you.” She said genuinely. “I’m Kala.”

“Wait.” He now pointed his bottle at her. “Did you say Kala?”

She nodded slowly in affirmation. “Yes…?”

“ _The_ Kala?” Felix turned his head to face the inside of his apartment, and when he looked back at her, he was grinning wickedly.

She’s not sure what’s going on.

“It’s nothing.” He brushed it off. “Hey, would you like to watch the fireworks with me and my flatmate? We’re just setting up some snacks and drinks, and no offense, but it’s kind of sad that you’re watching fireworks on your own.”

She laughed and said, “Sure”. She’s not the least bit offended because she may have found a friend, other than a naked stranger who not-broke-in-but-broke-in to her apartment.

“Sweet! We’re two doors down. Apartment seven.”

  
…  
  


She knocked on the door, a bottle of wine in one hand and a smile on her face, which faltered at the sight of Wolfgang opening the door.

She regained her composure, flashed him a grin, and lifted the free hand to move her hair onto one side. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He smiled back.

Felix pulled the door back further and stepped out to look between the two.

“You know each other?” Felix threw Wolfgang a cheeky smile, and Wolfgang did not want anything more than to punch that smile off his face.

“We’ve bumped into each other a couple of times.” Kala shrugged, looking everywhere but at Wolfgang.

Well, technically, she hit him with a pan when they met, but that’s all in the details. None of which Wolfgang wanted Felix to know in their entirety, at least not yet. He’d rather not get shit every day for the rest of his life from his flatmate (he already does, but whatever).

Felix looked at Kala, and then at Wolfgang, whose jaw was clenched in either amusement or annoyance – it was hard to tell sometimes.

“So.” He dragged on the syllable. “Let’s head out to the balcony and watch Pyronale, shall we?”

  
…  
  


The fireworks were a beautiful display. Kala was admiring the bursts of beautiful colours and lights as it covered the sky.

A highlight of the evening, however, was during the lulls in between firework competitors setting up for their display – where the three would exchange stories about growing up in their respective cities ( _Mumbai weather gets pretty warm, but sometimes the sun feels so nice on your skin_ , she reminisced. _It sounds nice_ , Wolfgang replied, _the weather’s shit in Berlin_. _Yeah_ , Felix piped, _it’s pretty much always raining_ ). They somehow talked about everything and nothing, more often than not laughing at Felix and Wolfgang’s shenanigans with old tenants of the apartment complex.

“Mr Gibbons was a complete asshole though, trust me.” Felix reassured Kala.

She only shook her head fondly, “I’m sure he was.”

As the last competitor finished their firework exhibition, they were left sitting out on the dark balcony, the only lights which illuminated them being ones from the neighbouring apartments. Felix got up and flicked on the balcony lights.

“Kala.” She turned when she heard Felix say her name. He continued, “You’re probably the best neighbour we’ve ever had in a _long_ time.”

She smiled and looked down in embarrassment, and admittedly, very humbled.

He sat back down on his chair. “Don’t you agree, Wolfgang?” She lifted her head to look at Wolfgang, who was already looking at her with a quiet intensity.

He raised the bottle of beer to his mouth and answered with a simple, “Yes,” before taking a drink.

She didn’t think she could blush any more around this man, but apparently, she can.

  
…  
  


It was getting late, so Kala stood up from her seat and greeted the two men goodnight. “Thank you for inviting me,” she grasped Felix’s shoulder lightly with a smile, “it was great talking with you.”

He held out his fist and laughed out loud when she bumped it with hers. “Well, from this day onwards, neighbour, you are always welcome in this apartment.”

She curtsied gracefully and adopted an exaggerated British accent, “Why thank you, kind sir.”

Felix remained in his seat as he bowed in return. “You’re quite welcome, madam.”

They both laughed, and Wolfgang resisted rolling his eyes in favour of chuckling at how silly they were. He stood up and walked slowly with Kala to the door, and with each step, Wolfgang counted in his head.

When Kala stepped out and turned to walk away, he didn’t register that he grabbed her hand like some sort of instinct. He dropped it as soon as he realised what he had done, but she had already turned to him with a questioning smile.

“What is it?”

He paused for a moment. “Are you doing anything this Saturday?”

She sucked in a breath and thought about it, and really, “No, it’s my day off, so I’ll just be at home.”

“Well if you don’t have any plans, you can come over if you want.” He shrugged. “Felix and I are watching a movie and –

As if on cue, Felix’s head popped out from behind Wolfgang’s shoulder, sporting a wide grin. “Oh, would you please? That would be amazing!” He looked up at Wolfgang with a mock-accusatory glare, “I’m sick of this guy picking either cheesy dramas or musicals on movie night.”

Kala would have felt bad for the pure mortified look on Wolfgang’s face, but seeing him all flushed and with his mouth slightly open trying to come up with a retort, was too good to be true. She muffled her giggle with a hand over her mouth.  
  


…

  
“Oh, _mein Gott_ , now I have to deal with two people who like cheesy dramas.” Felix rolled his eyes.

“Cheesy?!” Kala said with indignation. “I’ll have you know that ‘Devdas’ is a work of art.” Over Felix’s childish complaints about what he think will happen in the movie ( _Come on, man it’s always the same shit!_ Felix gestured to the front cover of the DVD, to which Wolfgang merely shrugged and replied, _you asked her to pick the movie_ ), Kala loaded the disc into the DVD player. She sat down on the couch next to Wolfgang, while actively trying to place some distance between them.

As she pressed the play button on the remote, she reminded Felix, “Be more open-minded. Now would you please be quiet and watch?”

  
…  
  


It started with Felix saying, “Here we go, there’s our lover boy and his precious girlfriend.” Then it turned to, “What a bitch! Who cares if she’s in a lower class? They love each other.” Kala beamed when he said, “Man, I would hate to be this guy. He can’t drink alcohol _and_ the love of his life is with another guy.”

Halfway through the film, she nudged Wolfgang with her elbow and when he turned away from the television to acknowledge her, she tilted her head in Felix’s direction. They both smirked as Felix was so immersed in the story. He was repeating words the characters would say, and…were those _tears_ Kala saw shining in Felix’s eyes?

When the flames of Paro’s lamp were extinguished, Felix let out an anguished noise. “No. That’s not the end. No, it can’t be.” When the credits rolled, he stood up and gestured to the screen while he turned to Kala. “Are you fucking kidding me? That’s it?”

Kala nodded solemnly. “That’s it.”

Her smile returned, however, when Felix said, “Well that was a really shitty way to end my Saturday evening. You better come back next week with one of those sappy musicals so I can forget the betrayal I just felt from this movie.”

  
…  
  


When she came back a next Saturday with a whole box of her favourite movies, Felix all but tackled her to the ground in excitement.


	4. Chapter 4

Although nothing was particularly said about it, their casual movie nights slowly became a weekly tradition, a gathering of three unlikely people every Saturday night in Apartment Seven – complete with cases of beer (for Wolfgang and Felix), a bottle of wine (for Kala), and a spread of greasy burgers and bowls of fries. This particular Saturday, it was Felix’s turn to choose. Somehow, it wasn’t a surprise for Kala to see the words ‘Conan the Barbarian’ across the screen. The seating arrangement stayed the same throughout: Felix in the convertible arm chair, and Kala and Wolfgang on the sofa.

“Oh man, Kala just you wait for this.” Felix beamed at her, and rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

Wolfgang grabbed his bottle of beer from the coffee table and leaned back against the couch to get comfortable. “It’s pretty good. Your bias is probably not helping at all, Felix.”

Felix gasped with mock-hurt, “Wolfie, you wound me.”

The opening sequence of the movie was enough to make Kala feel nauseous. The gratuitous violence made her wince, and she was trying so hard not to shut her eyes during the bloody scenes, lest Felix gets offended. As if sensing her discomfort, she felt Wolfgang’s arm casually drape over her shoulders – his hold loose enough for her to pull away if she wanted to. She turned her head slightly and smiled at him appreciatively, which he responded in kind with a small smile of his own. She found the physical reminder of his closeness reassuring, and helped her stomach through the action.

Felix, whose eyes were practically glued to the screen and mouthing the dialogue as if he wrote the script himself, turned to them and nodded at Kala, trying to gauge her reaction to _one of the most iconic films ever made_ ( _in Felix’s words, obviously_ , Wolfgang scoffed and rolled his eyes).

If he noticed Wolfgang’s arm slung over Kala’s shoulders, or the way Kala’s body was slightly leaning into Wolfgang’s, he didn’t say a word. Instead, he continued to act out the scenes in tandem with the screen, delivering every line with a fierce passion.

Wolfgang bent his head down to whisper into Kala’s ear, “This is his favourite line. Listen.”

Kala pretended that the goose bumps that dimpled her arms were from the chill of the air conditioning. It was definitely _not_ Wolfgang’s doing.

“What is best in life?” Felix muttered softly that Kala almost didn’t hear.

His voice got louder now. “To crush your enemies,” his hands formed into fists, “see them driven before you,” then he opened up his palms and raised it above his head, “and hear the lamentations of the women!”

He laughed at the incredulous look on Kala’s face. “Fuck, that line always gets me.”

An hour later, when the movie finished, Kala felt as if she was going to vomit. It didn’t help that the movie was very graphic, but she mostly felt sick from the food.

“Don’t you guys ever feel sick of this kind of food?” She raised one eyebrow at Felix.

“If by _this_ food, you mean quick and convenient meals that have twice the sodium and sugar content in them than a regular human being actually needs,” Felix said cheekily, “then yes. Sometimes.” He shrugged. “But we’re used to it.”

“And we’re lazy as shit.” Wolfgang shrugged, his arm has not left from its position over Kala’s shoulders, she noted.

“Oh yeah, that too.” Felix agreed.

Kala rolled her eyes. “Honestly, when was the last time you two had a home-cooked meal?”

“I don’t know, really.” Felix took a moment to think. “Maybe three months ago?”

“You’re kidding, right?” She looked at them with a deadpan expression.

“Kala, I wish I was.”

  
…  
  


That was how she ended up here, a few weeks later, ladling the steaming varhadi chicken curry into a bowl while the chapattis were frying on the stove. The smells reminded her of home, which she greedily breathed in with a happy sigh.

“This looks great!” Felix said as he took the bowl from Kala’s hands and placed it on the table. Wolfgang had just finished setting up the plates and utensils, and took a seat. The table was brimming with food: a heaping platter of kolambi pulao ( _it’s rice cooked in a broth with prawn and vegetables_ , Kala laughed in an attempt to explain what it was), small bowls of spiced yoghurt and mango chutney, and an assortment of beans and vegetables.

“Okay, it’s all done.” Kala set down the plate of chapattis in the middle of the table. She took the seat across from Wolfgang and smiled at the two.

As they took their first bites of her cooking, Kala could not help but beam at their sounds of contentment and their words of praise ( _Wow_ , Felix praised, his mouth still full of chapatti. Wolfgang nodded in agreement as he spooned more yoghurt on his curry and took another big mouthful).

Later, as she began to clear the plates off the table, Kala was impressed that they managed to power through most of the food. She grinned as she placed the leftovers into plastic containers, and watched as Wolfgang and Felix remained in their seats and drank beer.

“Kala, dearest, I don’t think I can eat for another week now.” He rubbed his stomach in satisfaction as he rested his head back against the dining chair. “I am completely stuffed.”

“Where did you learn to cook?” Wolfgang took a sip from his drink.

“My father is a chef, so I grew up in the restaurant back in India. He’s always making something different for me to try, and these were the recipes that I really loved from his menu.”

Felix sighed blissfully. “Bless your father.”

She placed the containers in the refrigerator and sat back down, taking a sip from her glass of wine. The silence between them should have been uncomfortable, though Kala felt anything but. Felix was on his phone, and Wolfgang was content with his beer. Kala smiled to herself as she poured herself more wine.

The peace was only broken after Felix’s phone _dinged_ loudly and he scrolled through his notifications with a devilish smirk on his face. He smacked the table loudly as he hollered out, “Yes! She matched me back! And she asked if I’m free tonight!” He shoved Wolfgang lightly.

“Are you going to meet her?” Wolfgang asked.

“Meet who?” Kala looked at Felix with a frown of concern.

Felix tapped his phone screen and turned it to show Kala. It was a picture of a very beautiful woman, smiling as she posed in between two equally handsome men. There was a name at the bottom, _Daniela_ , aged _25_.

“She’s pretty,” Kala approved, feeling a little relieved because something about the people in the picture told her that they were genuinely good people. And she usually has very good intuition.

“Pretty?” Felix turned his phone to stare at the screen again. “She’s fucking hot.” He turned to Kala and Wolfgang, and his smile fell down. “But I’m hanging out with you guys…”

“Felix,” Kala said with a stern tone, “go.” She laughed.

His eyes were hopeful, yet he asked with a hesitant voice, “Are you sure you guys won’t mind?”

Wolfgang nodded. “Don’t make her tell you twice.” He let out a short snicker.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Felix shot out of his seat and jumped around in joy. “Goodbye, beautiful people.” He gave Kala a pat on the head and punched Wolfgang lightly on the arm. He strutted confidently out of the apartment, and tossed Kala and Wolfgang a wink before he closed the door.

They were both smiling as they shook head at the door, even after Felix was long gone.

  
…  
  


“You’re lucky to have Felix.” Kala spoke up after a long period of silence. She thought he was going to leave immediately after Felix left, but he didn’t move an inch, only leaning back against the chair and absentmindedly played with his now empty bottle.

“I am.” He nodded with a small quirk of his lips.

“How did you two meet?”

“When we were kids,” Wolfgang lowered his head and breathed deeply. He didn’t want to see the look on her face as he said, “He helped me escape from my father.”

“Oh.” Again, Wolfgang was glad she didn’t press him to continue speaking.

It made him all the more comfortable to say, “I’ve always known since then that Felix was my family. No matter how many times we got our ass kicked, we still stuck together.”

“He would do anything for you,” she observed. “And you would do anything for him.”

He looked up at her and then back down. “Of course,” Wolfgang shrugged. “He’s my brother,” he added resolutely, “and we’re bound by something stronger than blood.”

“What?”

“By choice.” Wolfgang said and tilted his head up again at Kala. His whole life, it was just him and Felix. Throughout the childhood heartbreaks, the petty fights with schoolyard bullies, all the way to barely graduating university and blindly starting up a business with little to no help, Wolfgang and Felix ( _the dynamic-fucking-duo_ , Steiner would sneer at them) had each other’s backs and no one else’s.

It took him a long time to accept other people in his life – people that he could say without a doubt were his family. And now, as he was opening himself up to Kala, inviting her into his world seemed like the most natural thing to do.


	5. Chapter 5

Kala woke up with a feeling that it was going to be a very good day. She sat up and stretched languidly, laughing at the sounds of cracking bones and enjoying the feel of her muscles as the tension was released. However, when she tried to roll out of her bed, she got caught up in her sheets and fell to the floor with a loud _thud!_

She hissed in pain as she pulled herself up and rubbed her backside. _Okay, so maybe it wasn’t going to be a good day_. She walked out to the kitchen and poured herself a cold glass of orange juice. She took a huge gulp but before she swallowed, she noticed it tasted a little off. Looking at the carton, the label read that it expired a few days ago. She scrunched up her face in disgust and spat the juice out into the sink.

_Could this day get any worse?_ She decided to hop into the shower and feel refreshed. With her clothes still on, she turned the handle to the hot setting and let the water heat up. Ten minutes passed and it still wasn’t hot. She turned it off and back on again, waiting another few minutes for the steam to start emanating from the shower head.

_Well, turns out it can._ She gathered her toiletries along with a change of clothes and her towel, and marched out of her apartment. She approached the only other place in the whole complex where she felt right at home, and was glad to catch the person just as they were about to leave.

“Felix.” Kala smiled at him, and he smiled back, a little puzzled at her presence so early on a Sunday morning.

“Good morning.” He looked at her pointedly. “What can I help you with?”

“Do you mind if I use your shower? Mine isn’t heating up the water properly. I’ll be quick, I promise.”

“Yeah, of course.” He nodded and motioned for her to walk straight into the apartment. “Go for it. But Wolfgang’s still asleep though, so you may want to keep the noise down and – you know what?” He shot her a cheeky grin. “To hell with it. Make as much noise as you want until the bastard wakes up, yeah?”

_Maybe her day was getting better_. She laughed and gave him thumbs up. “I’ll be sure to let you know how angry he’ll be.”

“Please do.”

  
…  
  


The openness of their bathroom was new to Kala. The design was simple enough, a sole shower head on one end facing the wall, and the toilet on the other. There was no barrier to separate the two, and the mirror hanging above the sink was big enough that it reflected back everything the occupier was seeing. She turned on the water and soaked herself with the initial cold spray, and left it on while it heated up.

With the water still running, she bent down to grab the bottle of shampoo, inhaling the sweet scent of roses that she loved. She squeezed a relatively small amount onto her wet palms and lathered it up before lightly massaging her scalp, which quickly foamed on top of her head. She was humming to herself, obviously enjoying the warm steam on her body. Unfortunately, she didn’t hear the sound of the bathroom door opening.

She quickly turned off the water at the sound of a startled yet sleepy voice. “What the fuck are you doing?”

She turned around, and screamed when she saw Wolfgang. “Why are you naked?!” She crossed one arm over her breasts and the other to cover the lower half of her body. “Don’t look at me!”

The franticness of her tone as she shrieked at him was enough to properly wake him up. He turned around so quick that he nearly lost his balance. “I don’t understand.” He shouted at the wall. “Why are you here?!”

Kala snapped back, “My shower wasn’t working! Do you ever wear clothes?!”

“I don’t fucking have to! This is my apartment!” He was mortified as he shuffled out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. He shut the door and ran to his closet to grab the first pair of pants he saw, putting it on hastily and swearing under his breath. Kala was in his bathroom, taking a shower and –

_Oh, fuck._

_Kala._

_Was in his bathroom._

_Taking a shower._

_Naked._

  
…  
  


_Okay, Kala. Breathe. Breathe._ She willed her heart to stop beating so fast, and the blood to stop pounding in her ears. She couldn’t believe this was actually happening to her. _Of all bloody people_ , it had to be her. _In Wolfgang’s apartment no less._ Circumstances aside, she couldn’t help but think about the muscles on his back, and the two dimples just above –

_No. Kala, stop it. He’s your neighbour._

Another voice inside her head was taunting her now. _Yes, but you know you’re attracted to him and deep down also you know that he feels the same way and –_

_Kala. Seriously._

To keep from scolding herself further, she turned the water back on and let the sound take over her thoughts. After rinsing the last of the soapy suds from her body and haphazardly drying herself, she threw on the tank top and – she realised now that she was putting them on – ridiculously scanty shorts, and tried to phrase her explanation as to why she was there.

She opened the door as she spoke. “Hey, Wolfgang, look I just –

She stopped before she collided with his bare chest, and she suddenly forgot what she was about to say. She trained her eyes on the broadness of his shoulders, slowly drifted her gaze down to the muscles on his abdomen, and flicked them back up to look at him. His pupils were dilated (she was sure hers were just as enlarged), which made Kala inhale sharply, because his eyes were even more mesmerising up close.

“I –

Wolfgang’s jaw tightened as he looked at her, and didn’t bother to continue speaking. His gaze kept skimming the path down her nose to her _full, full lips_ and back up again. Kala was suddenly very aware of how little clothes she was wearing, and how her still-wet body made the thin fabric stick to her skin.

She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out, so she licked her bottom lip and sunk her teeth into it, and saw the way Wolfgang’s lips parted and let out a shaky breath.

She could see his chest rise and fall as he took deep breaths, and she felt like all the air has been sucked out of her lungs. But she couldn’t make her legs move to walk away from his bedroom and to the front door. Instead, her traitorous hands trailed up his arms and settled on his biceps. He gulped at the feel of her skin on his, and his breathing got even heavier, which almost drowned the sounds of erratic pulsing from Kala’s heart.

She craned her neck to look into his eyes once again as her body leaned forward, and she could feel his hands ghosting around her waist. His head tilted slightly as it descended to meet her halfway, and suddenly halted to a stop. His eyes were searching for something – _anything_ that indicated she didn’t want him to go further.

She gave him a shy smile as his words echoed in her head, “ _Thank God for gravity_.” She gave a brief nod of consent. And before her eyes fluttered shut and before he could close the gap between them, they were forced to jump apart at the sound of a bird crashing into Wolfgang’s bedroom window.

The distance between them, though only a few footsteps, seemed like a wide gap. But it gave Kala enough room to breathe properly and gather herself. She went back into the bathroom and collected her things. Not looking him in the eyes, she mumbled something incoherent under her breath before she practically ran past him, hitting his shoulder lightly, and closed the door behind her to return to her apartment.   
  
…  
  


Wolfgang groaned out loud as he dived face-first on his bed, the springs of the mattress creaking in protest. He punched his pillow in obvious frustration and immediately laughed despite himself. _God, what is she doing to me?_


	6. Chapter 6

The rooftop oasis of their apartment complex was breathtaking, Wolfgang can admit. There were flowers everywhere, which he wasn’t really fond of because it reminded him of funerals. He sat down on the long wooden bench and took a tiny folded piece of paper from his pocket. He unfolded it and took a deep breath, reminiscing about his few good memories of the past. He was so ensconced in his thoughts that he didn’t register a figure walking towards him.

He glanced at bare feet that stopped just inches from his own and trailed his eyes up to see Kala looking down at him. “It’s getting late. How did you get in here? Did you break in?” She had a teasing tone to her voice, which made Wolfgang smile a little.

“What are you doing here?”

“The landlord gave me the keys to come up here when I first moved in. She said it could be my personal hiding spot.”

Wolfgang hummed. “She didn’t give Felix and I keys, and we’ve been living here for years.”

“True,” she sat down next to him and rubbed her hands on her jeans, “but you’ve also given her trouble during those years, have you not?”

He laughed mirthlessly. “I can understand why she wouldn’t want us to ruin the peace and quiet here.”

It was silent for a moment before Kala looked at him. “It reminds me of home.”

He scoffed, still fiddling with the piece of paper with both hands. “You have something worth remembering. I barely had anything.”

She tilted her head at him. “What do you remember most about home, then?” 

“My mother,” he looked at her with a sad smile and bent his head down to see the woman in the photo smiling back at him.

  
…  
  


_Wolfgang packed his backpack excitedly, placing the last item inside and zipping it shut. He wove his arms through the straps and ran to the kitchen laughing._

_“Mom, come on! We’re going to miss the train!” He placed his arms around her legs and tried to pull her with him._

_She resisted, but hugged him back anyway. “Honey, I don’t think I’ll be able to go with you.”_

_“But Felix’s mum said that you have to come!” He looked up at her and pouted, “Aunty Lena said that you needed to get out of the house more.”_

_She smiled at him dejectedly and ruffled his hair. “Well, when you see your Aunty Lena, tell her I’m busy. Okay?” She looked warily at the front door. “Your father’s coming home soon.”_

_Wolfgang’s eyes widened in fear and he shook his head. “I’m not going anymore. I’m staying home with you.”_

_The door burst open and Wolfgang buried his face on her thigh. He felt her freeze against him as he heard the loud breathing and drunken stumbling of his father._

_“Wolfgang, go. Now.” She pushed him to the front door and kissed the top of his head. “You’re going to miss the train.” Her eyes were shining and her voice was wavering, Wolfgang didn’t like it at all._

_“But mom –_

_“Wolfie, my boy,” his father clapped him on the back forcefully. Wolfgang crossed his arms and glowered at him, which the man was too inebriated to notice anyway. “Go. Your mother and I need to discuss something.”_

_“Have fun, my volchonok,” she closed her eyes as she locked the door. Wolfgang stood outside, and walked to the train station with tears in his eyes as the tried to forget the familiar sound of hand slapping on skin, and the quiet sob of his mother as she begged for forgiveness._

  
…  
  


“That was the last time I ever saw her.” He handed her the photograph, which Wolfgang had folded and unfolded so many times growing up. The lines had started to damage the image, but he could still remember what she looked like with clarity.

She stared at her face for a while, looking for similarities between her and the man beside her. “Wolfgang,” she choked out, “you don’t have to. Really.” She returned the photograph back, which he pocketed.

He shook his head at her, “No. I want to.”

She looked at him with teary eyes and nodded softly. “Do you miss her?” She placed a hand on his shoulder and started trailing it down and back up in a soothing rhythm.

“Sometimes.”

“What about your father?”

“Fuck, no.”

“Why? Why did you run away from him?”

Wolfgang turned his gaze away from her. “My father,” he sighed with contempt, “he was a monster.”

  
…  
  


_Wolfgang set down the plate on the table, gulping in anticipation. The other man was silent, and he thought everything was going to be fine, until the man opened his mouth._

_“What the fuck is this?” His father yelled at him as he looked at the plate. Wolfgang froze when the hands that lay flat on the table tightened into firsts._

_“You’re a useless piece of shit!” He swung one arm and made contact with Wolfgang’s jaw, the impact of which sent him flying backwards. “Just like your mother!” The man got up from his chair and walked menacingly towards his son._

_As he lay on the ground, mouth bleeding and unable to get himself up, Wolfgang braced himself for the sensation of being kicked in the stomach. But the contact never came and instead he heard the sound of breaking glass and a heavy body falling to the ground._

_He opened his eyes and saw Felix standing over his father’s body, holding the remnants of a bottle with one hand and pointing at him with the other._

_“What is best in life?” He helped Wolfgang stand up and continued, “To crush your enemies!” He kicked the older man in the side of the stomach. “See them driven before you,” he kicked him again, “and to hear the lamentations of the women!”_

_He beamed at Wolfgang, which he responded with a smirk. “Wolfie, he doesn’t have to hurt you anymore.”_

_Wolfgang looked down at his father. “No,” he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, “he won’t.”_

_He and Felix struggled to drag his father’s body into the battered car parked inconspicuously next to the canal, but they managed it. Together, they propped his unconscious body into the driver’s seat and secured the seatbelt across his frame. The trunk of the car was opened and they each grabbed a jerry can that was half-filled with gasoline. After they doused the whole car, they stood back and Wolfgang grabbed the box of matches from his front pocket. He struck a match and, taking a last look at his (he thought with disgust) father, he threw it at the car and watched unremorseful as the flames burned._

  
…  
  


“I promised myself I would never become like him.” He smiled ruefully at her. “But every day I’m reminded that he and I are one and the same.”

Her hand never ceased running up and down the length of his back. “Wolfgang,” she sniffed. She didn’t continue speaking until he looked at her. “You are not your father.”

He raised one eyebrow as if to challenge her statement. He could think of a thousand different ways he’s exactly like his asshole father.

She turned her body slightly to face him better and cupped his cheeks with both hands. “You are not a monster. You never were, and you never will be.” She looked at him imploringly, with tears streaking down her face, and for a moment he felt that he could actually believe her.

He didn’t say anything in response, and they stayed that way for what felt like hours.

When her tears were dry, Kala let out a deep sigh and let go. He steeled himself for the inevitable – of her walking away and leaving him to be drowned by his inner demons. That experience was nothing new to him.

But she surprised him when she stood between his legs and held her arms out. “Come on.”

He looked at her with doubt, but let her pull him up anyway. She didn’t let go of his hands as she walked backwards to the edge of the balcony.

When her back made contact with the ledge, she released her grip on him with a smile and turned around with outstretched arms. “Do you see this? It’s beautiful!” She lowered her hands to grip on the railing and let out a wistful sigh.

He leaned forward so his chest was resting on her back and his head was perched on the juncture between her shoulder and her neck. The view was more than just beautiful. From where they stood, the towering buildings seemed miniature and the people even more so. The colours of the landscape looked even more dramatic against the orange hue of the sky.

Wolfgang tentatively wrapped his arms around her and breathed the scent of roses in, this feeling of contentment settling in his chest. In turn, one of her hands let go of the railing and caressed the hair on the nape of his neck. She turned her head sideways and planted a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. They both smiled at each other as they basked in the warm glow of the sunset.

He still believed he was a monster. That was something he thought he could never change about himself. He tightened his hold on her. But for her, _for her_ , he would try.


	7. Chapter 7

“Man, Daniela is _everything_ and I actually can’t believe I’m dating her.” Felix yelled out from the kitchen as he grabbed their drinks from the refrigerator.

Wolfgang sat on the couch with his legs stretched out on the coffee table, and mindlessly flipped through the television programmes. After seeing nothing good was on, he settled on a rerun of ‘Drei Damen vom Grill’ and turned the volume down so it was on the lowest setting before mute.

When Felix was within arms’ reach and handed him his beer, Wolfgang asked with a smirk, “You guys are doing long distance?”

Felix nodded with a smile on his face as he sat down next to him. “It’s a bit tough, but for her, it’s so worth it. The seven-hour difference between Berlin and Mexico doesn’t even seem that much, anyway.”

“When was the last time you spoke to her?”

Felix grabbed his phone from the coffee table and read through his messages. “About two hours ago. Oh! By the way, Lito said he’s really excited to come back soon. He and Hernando have planned something huge for you guys.”

Wolfgang smiled. “How are those two?”

“They’re as happy as any couple can be.” He smiled back, and suddenly dropped it into a frown, “Why didn’t you tell me you knew Lito? Fuck, I could’ve gotten with Daniela ages ago…”

“Maybe because I didn’t want to be your wingman, while you embarrass yourself in front of her.” Wolfgang beamed at him.

“Please!” Felix scoffed, “You and I both know I’m the smoother one between us.”

When Wolfgang only hummed in agreement and turned back to the television, he continued, “What about you?” he tipped his bottle in Wolfgang’s direction before taking a sip. “You haven’t even brought a girl back home in, what, six months?”

Wolfgang avoided Felix eyes as he shrugged, “I’ve been busy.”

“Fuck off, you’ve been busy!” Felix shoved him playfully. “You barely do any work at the shop and we haven’t gone out clubbing in so long! The most interaction you’ve had with a woman is when we hang out with –

Felix’s eyes widened in sudden realisation, and Wolfgang gave him a self-deprecating smile when he shouted, “Kala! No way! Are you going to tell her?” He asked eagerly.

Wolfgang rolled his eyes. “How old do you think I am?”

“I’m just saying,” Felix leaned back and held both hands up in surrender, “it might do you some good. Look where it got me with Daniela."

“Yeah, well, I am not you.”

Felix laughed. “You’re right. I’m funnier and way better looking and –

Wolfgang cut him off with an edge to his voice. “Can you just fast forward to the end of this shit?”

“Wolfie,” Felix dropped his cheeky tone, “don’t you think she’s worth it?”

_Of course she’s worth it._ “She deserves someone better.”

“Humour me. Someone like who?”

“Someone who can make her happy.” Wolfgang pursed his lips immediately after, afraid that he had said too much. _Someone that's not me._

Felix said nothing after that. “How long?” He asked after an eon of silence.

“How long what?”

Felix looked at him pointedly, knowing full well he was trying to act clueless. “How long have you had feelings for Kala?”

Wolfgang let out a deep breath. He didn’t even need to think about it, because he knew exactly when. “From the moment I first saw her.” He smiled a little at the memory.

“And,” Felix raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him, “in this whole time you’ve been pining for her – _don’t you fucking deny it,_ you’ve been pining, my friend – has she ever made you feel like you weren’t worth…” Felix had to be careful around Wolfgang, as he knew his brother was adverse to _that_ word, “…caring about? That you weren’t good enough for her? That she could go ahead and find someone else that’s apparently better for her?”

Wolfgang paused as he thought about it. “No, I guess not.”

“So how can you know for sure that you don’t make her happy? Because clearly she makes you happy.”

“I don’t know, Felix. I just do.”

He grasped Wolfgang’s shoulders with both hands and shook his body weakly. “I’m not fucking blind, Wolfie. She looks at you the same way you look at her.”

Wolfgang rolled his eyes, and pushed Felix’s hands off him. But his pulse started beating a little faster after hearing what Felix just said. _She looks at him? And how does he look at her?_

He must have voiced those thoughts out loud, because Felix barked out a laugh. “Gottverdammt, Wolfie, you look at her as if she holds all the answers to your questions. Like she’s the fucking moon and stars, I don’t know. But it’s sickeningly endearing, that sometimes I want to gouge my eyes out.”

Wolfgang’s starting to get a headache from the amount of times he’s rolled his eyes at Felix today. “So, what’s your point?”

“My _point_ is,” he glared at him, “that you could have a future with Kala. If I could have someone as great as Daniela, then you deserve to be with Kala. Stop denying what you feel, because of this twisted thought that somehow you can’t be happy.” He smiled at Wolfgang hopefully. “Trust me, man.”

He always did.


	8. Chapter 8

He didn’t know how he managed to find Kala at a bar crowded with people. He stepped in to her apartment after he successfully unlocked it while he held her up with one arm, her legs tight around his torso and her arms weakly holding on around him. He didn’t even know she went to that particular bar, given that there were many bars scattered near where she worked ( _Who said I couldn’t come to this one, huh?_ She raised a hand at him, but slight swaying and slurred speech overshadowed her adorable sternness, so he just gave her a smile). He looked down at her as he nudged her bedroom door open and slowly walked into the dark room. He didn’t want to disturb her rest by turning on the bright light, so he tried to navigate as best he can to her bed. She made a noise of protest at the movement and tightened her hold on him.

When he finally reached it, Wolfgang carefully set her down on the bed and unwrapped her arms that were laced around his neck. He covered her with a blanket and tucked her in before he righted himself and got ready to leave.

She grabbed his hand and tugged on it weakly. “Stay.”

He shook his head at her and used his free hand to pry her grip off him. “I don’t think you’ve thought about this properly. You’re drunk.”

“What do you mean?” She looked at him with a stricken expression that his chest ached a little.

“You don’t actually want me here.”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

Wolfgang stared at her with wide eyes, trying to communicate something to her without actually speaking. But she couldn’t read his mind, so he just looked at her.

_Stop denying what you feel._

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Please.”

He lay flat on his back with his arms crossed under his head, and stared at the ceiling. She curled up on her side, with her back turned to him and was humming the song he recognised she sang at the bar – ‘What’s Going On?’

He smiled at the ceiling and shook his head softly. Then she went quiet, and Wolfgang turned his head to look at her frame and wondered if she had fallen asleep.

“Wolfgang.”

He gave a noise of acknowledgement. She was still awake, then.

“Why is it like this?”

“Like what?”

“Why is it so hard?”

_Stop denying what you feel._

“I don’t know what you mean.” Maybe if he kept stalling, that she’d eventually give up and just go to sleep.

“Wolfgang, please.” But just like him, she was also stubborn. “I understand how I feel about you. And I know you feel the same about me.”

He sighed, but he said nothing.

“So can you please tell me why you’re always holding back?”

Again, he said nothing. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Never.” He was affronted that she would ever think that.

“Then tell me. Please.” She sounded exasperated.

He squeezed his eyes shut as he clenched his jaw in anger. At himself. _Stop denying what you feel._

“Because.” He paused, not really sure if he wanted to continue. Felix’s words kept echoing in his head. _Tell her. It might do you some good._

“Because I don’t know if I can trust myself around you.” He waited again. But she didn’t say anything, and he was spurred with sudden emotion that he couldn’t place. “Because I know I’m capable of hurting people,” he took in a sharp breath, “and the last person I want to hurt is you.”

He didn’t dare say anything further. He was glad she was turned away from him. He probably wouldn’t have been able to bear to see her face. Even in the darkness he kept staring at the back of her head, which, he could now hear against her pillow, was shaking in disagreement.

“No.”

She yawned and rolled over so she was looking at him, their faces only visible to each other under the pale glow of the moonlight peeking through the curtains. “No. You won’t hurt me. I know you,” she whispered, and slowly lifted up one hand to trail her fingers down the side of his face. “I know,” her thumb was now caressing his bottom lip, “because you have something good, and something beautiful in you that you never show anyone.”

Wolfgang closed his eyes at the sensation, and opened them once her fingers trailed further down to his collarbone.

She smiled at him before closing her eyes and burying her face in his chest. Her fists had grabbed the front of his shirt as if she didn’t want him to go anywhere. He heard her sigh softly, “You have something good, just as I have something dark and wicked to hide.” She yawned again, and she sounded even more tired. “I am capable of hurting others just as much as you.”

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to him, running his fingers up and down her back to lull her into sleep. He dropped a soft kiss on her forehead and whispered, “Then I guess we’re perfect for each other.” He had meant it sardonically, as a little teasing joke. But he knew that he wanted it to be true. He wanted her. And he wanted to be a part of her life just as she was a part of his.

She sighed again, this time with content and happiness that reverberated through his body. He felt her lips on his neck as she softly mumbled, “Yes.” She nuzzled further into his neck. “Yes, we are.”

…

Kala breathed in deeply, and shifted around on her bed to get comfortable – but she found she couldn’t. There was a heavy weight strewn across her body and was holding her securely against a solid frame. _Oh, god._ She lifted her head up and tried her best to look at the person behind her without waking them up. When she realised her efforts were futile, she placed her head back down and tried to recollect memories from the night before.

She froze when she felt the hand that was draped on her stomach rubbed her skin softly through the fabric. The person behind her started muttering – she listened closely – meaningless German, and it was like a switch went off in her head. _Wolfgang._

Then the pieces started falling into place. She was at the karaoke bar. She drank something that had a little too much alcohol that she was used to. Wolfgang was there. And he carried her back to the apartment, not complaining about her loud giggles and constant pulling of his ears and her drunken stupor. She inwardly cringed and silently cursed herself. _Damn it._

But she also remembered her asking him to stay. She remembered telling him how she felt. She remembered him saying with such tenderness, _we’re perfect for each other._ She remembered saying they were.

Kala placed one hand on top of Wolfgang’s hand that was resting on her stomach, and he shuffled from behind her in his sleep and laced their fingers together. Slowly, she brought their intertwined hands to her lips and kissed it with a smile.

She placed it back down and closed her eyes again, returning to sleep once more. _Yes, they were._


	9. part one

“Are you going to invite her?” Felix was ironing his shirt in the dining room as Wolfgang was sprawled on the couch watching ‘The Voice’. When he said nothing in response, Felix rolled his eyes. “Wolfie, what the fuck?”

Wolfgang waited until an advertisement came up on the screen. “What now Felix?”

“Why aren’t you inviting her?” Felix draped the shirt over a chair and began to iron his dress pants.

“Did I say I wasn’t going to?”

“Well, no. Not per se –

“Exactly. So shut up.” Wolfgang turned his attention back to the television. “I’m going to her apartment and then ask her.”

“You’re not exactly doing what you said you’re going to do.” Felix placed the pants over a different chair and turned off the iron. “So now, my question is, when are you going to?”

Wolfgang sighed in exasperation and stood up from the couch. “If I go now, will you shut the fuck up about it?”

He nodded. “Gladly.” Before Wolfgang shut the front door, he said, “Hey, Wolfie.”

Wolfgang turned around expectantly, his hand still on the door handle. “Yeah?”

Felix gave him a wide grin. “I’m happy for you, man.”

“Me too.” He smiled back.

  
…  
  


Wolfgang walked up to Kala’s front door with a big smile on his face and knocked softly. He listened for her footsteps and the sound of her voice responding to the door, but there was silence. He knocked a second time, and again, nothing. But he knew she was home. She didn’t work on Saturdays, and she would usually be cleaning at this time. He was familiar with the sound of her singing along to her Bollywood music, and was getting more and more worried at this change to her routine. He tried again, but still there was no answer. Wolfgang felt restless. He was getting ready to tear the front door down, landlord be damned, when it opened. He said nothing as he was greeted with the sight of Kala, with puffy eyes and a tear-stained face.

She left the door open and walked back inside. He followed her in and sat down next to her on the couch. Without warning, she launched herself at him and he instinctively caught her. He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry against him.

He wanted so badly to ask her what was wrong. He wanted to know if he could do anything to alleviate her pain. But she has never pressured him to say anything whenever he was upset, so he kept quiet, and continued to rub her back soothingly. He heard her cry even harder, and the sound of it broke his heart. He leaned back and kissed her temple softly, and returned her head to its position once more.

She pulled back and started wiping the tears that soaked a part of his shirt. “I’m sorry,” she hiccupped, “I’m ruining your shirt.”

He shook his head. “I don’t care.” He cupped her face with both hands and tried to wipe away as much of the tears on her cheeks as he could. She held his hands steady with hers and just sat looking into his eyes. He hoped she could understand the words he couldn’t say. _It’s okay. I’m here for you._

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if willing her breathing to return to normal. She leaned her forehead lightly against his, and Wolfgang too closed his eyes and just stayed there listening to her ragged breathing.

  
…  
  


There was a quick knock on the door and a sound of keys jingling that ruined the silence between Kala and Wolfgang. But none of them were bothered enough to break apart. It was only when the door swung open loudly and Felix’s head popped in with a bright smile that Wolfgang pulled back. Kala let out a small noise of protest and placed them on his jean-clad thighs.

“What are you guys doing – oh,” Felix paused as he took in the sight of a weeping Kala clinging on to Wolfgang.

Kala only looked at him as he walked straight to her kitchen and started fiddling with the kettle. She could hear the water boiling. She wanted to tell Felix that he should go back to his apartment, she wanted to tell Wolfgang that she’ll be fine by herself, but she couldn’t find the words to tell them not to worry about her.

“I don’t know if I made your tea right.” Felix took one of her hands and placed the mug of chai tea in her weak hold. She brought up the other hand to secure the mug, breathing in the warm spices and feeling somewhat better. “But I know it reminds you of home.”

_Home_. Kala let out another small sob and tears were again falling down her face.

“Shit,” Felix looked lost. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know –

She shook her head, “No it’s okay. I just miss them. I’ve never lived so far from them.” She placed the mug down on the coffee table after one sip. It was too much. “I’ve never been away from home for this long either.” She closed her eyes and put her head back down to rest against Wolfgang’s collarbone.

Once Kala’s breathing seemed back to normal, and her trembling had subsided, Felix spoke up. “Kala, would you like to come out with us for dinner? We’re meeting up with a bunch of our friends downtown and –

“Felix.” Wolfgang warned.

He looked at Wolfgang innocently. “What?” He motioned to Kala, whose face was still hidden in Wolfgang’s neck. “She needs cheering up, right?”

Wolfgang pushed Kala back from their embrace with one hand, and used the other to sweep the hair back from her face. He cupped the back of her neck and looked into her eyes as he said, “Only if you want to, okay? We’re not going to make you go.” He turned his head to look at Felix, “Right, Felix?”

Felix nodded.

Kala sniffed and said with a shaky breath, “I wouldn’t want to intrude you and your friends.”

“Of course you wouldn’t!” Felix scoffed. “It’s Wolfgang’s birthday, and we would love for you to celebrate it with us.” He took one look at Kala’s expression and his smile dropped. “What’s wrong?”

Kala shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong.” She looked at Wolfgang, and Felix, and back to Wolfgang again. “It’s just,” she smiled shyly, “It’s my birthday today, too.”

As Wolfgang thought to himself, _shit_ , Felix jumped up in surprise and yelled out an incredulous, “Dude!”


	10. part two

Kala smoothed down the non-existent wrinkles on her dress as she looked at herself in the mirror. The dress was beautiful: the deep purple colour looked exquisite against her skin and whenever she moved, the light would catch the sequins all over the dress and make her shine. Daya had picked it out for her while they were shopping before she left Mumbai months ago. She smiled sadly at her reflection, but she couldn’t cry. Not now. _It’s your birthday, for goodness’ sake._ She had called her family after Wolfgang and Felix left her alone to get ready, and she was grateful that she could at least hear her family’s voices as they sung her ‘Happy Birthday’. She gave herself a reassuring nod and slipped on her heels.

She was locking up her front door when she heard two pairs of shoes walking towards her. She looked up and saw Felix and Wolfgang both looking handsome and done up in buttoned shirts and slacks.

“Kala, you look stunning!” Felix gushed. He gave her a big hug that lifted her off the ground, and she grasped his shoulders and laughed as he twirled her around. He set her down and kissed both her cheeks with a loud smack.

She stepped in front of Wolfgang with her head down and a small smile on her face. She didn’t know why she was suddenly nervous, but when she looked up at him from underneath her lashes, the expression on Wolfgang’s face made her heart beat faster.

Wolfgang said nothing, but took one of her hands in his and tugged her lightly as he walked, “Let’s go.”

  
…  
  


“Wolfie, are you sure this is the right place?” Felix looked at him cynically as he craned his head to observe the long line of people in front of the restaurant across the road. “You know we can’t afford this place, right?”

“I didn’t pick the restaurant.” Wolfgang shrugged. “Lito did. And they said they were already here, so keep looking.” His grip on Kala’s hand never loosened from the moment they left the apartment complex.

“Ah,” Felix sighed in relief, “there they are.” He jogged over to who Kala remembered was Daniela and greeted her first with a long kiss. When he released her, he greeted the other nine (Kala counted) people around them. He pointed at Wolfgang and Kala and beckoned them to come over.

The energy of the group was infectious, and Kala was swept up by their reception to Wolfgang (a lithe woman with short, chopped hair gave Wolfgang a casual nod, a bearded man Kala recognised as one of the men in Daniela’s profile picture hugged Wolfgang, and another darker man grabbed his hand in a complicated handshake). Once he finished saying hello to everyone, he looked at Kala with a soft smile.

“Kala,” he gestured to the large group, “this is everyone. Everyone, this is Kala.”

He ushered her forward and the woman with short hair shook Kala’s outstretched hand. “Nice to meet you. My name is Sun.”

Kala smiled and was immediately pulled into a big hug. “You’re very beautiful. Wow.” A man with a deep voice said with almost a reverence that Kala was flattered by. “I’m Capheus.”

“Nice to meet you.” She returned the embrace and was passed on to the next person.

“I’m Lito,” the bearded man kissed both of Kala’s cheeks. “And this is my partner, Hernando.” The other man from Daniela’s photo shook her hand with a smile. “Of course, that is Dani.” The woman who was wrapped in Felix’s arms stepped out of his hold and hugged Kala.

“Thank you for looking after Felix.” She turned to Wolfgang and smirked as she looked back at Kala, “Those two could never have survived without you.”

“I resent that!” Felix laughed, and Daniela returned to his open arms and kissed him.

The next person was a woman wearing glasses. She clapped her hands and kissed Kala’s cheeks. “Oh my god. Wolfgang talks about you all the time!” She gushed, and Kala felt the heat rise in her whole face. “It’s so nice to finally put a face to your name.”

“Nomi.” Wolfgang’s voice was clipped as he spoke from behind her, and frankly, Kala thought, a little embarrassed. She held back a giggle.

“Wait, was I not supposed to tell her that?” She frowned apologetically. “I’m sorry, forget what I just said. I’m Nomi.” Kala smiled back. “This is my fiancée, Amanita.”

The first thing Kala noticed about Amanita was the bright colours of her hair, and it brought a huge smile to her face. Kala’s cheeks were hurting from how much she had been smiling, but she didn’t mind it one bit.

“You are so hot,” Amanita gasped. She hugged Kala and whispered conspiratorially in her ear, “Wolfgang wasn’t exaggerating, honey.” Kala blushed and sputtered out a ‘thank you’.

“Amanita, come on, don’t scare her off,” laughed another tall man. “We just met her.” He held out his hand to Kala, “My name is Will.”

“Hello, Will.” Kala smiled. The woman with platinum-blonde hair next to him giggled and grabbed Kala to hug her.

“I’m Riley. We’re glad you could come tonight.”

They all fell into a comfortable conversation about how nice Berlin was, and discussed the list of clubs that they were going to go after dinner. Kala felt so at ease with Wolfgang and Felix’s friends; it was like she knew them her whole life. They shuffled down the line slowly as other people were being led into the restaurant.

Once they were at the front of the line, Felix whistled, “I’ve never been to this restaurant before.” He looked up at the tall pillars of its front entrance. “Lito, this is some fancy shit.”

Lito winked at Felix in response. He then walked up to the waiter standing at the podium and said smoothly, “We have an eight o’clock reservation under the last name, Rodriguez.”

The maître-d quickly scanned through the book in front of him and smiled back at Lito. “Yes, table for twelve? Follow me, please. Right this way.”

  
…  
  


When they nearly finished their very fulfilling meals, Kala took a sip from her wine and turned to Lito, who sat on her right. “How did you guys meet Wolfgang?” She scooped the last of her mashed potatoes into her mouth.

“My family and I were at a restaurant in Chicago a few years ago,” Lito gestured at Hernando and Daniela, “and a man out of nowhere came to our table and started calling me a faggot, and that I wasn’t allowed to eat there.”

Felix leaned closer from across the table. “Wolfgang and I were on the other side of the restaurant, so we had no idea what was going on. But in the middle of us eating, he suddenly got up. He looked so pissed, as if someone had said something to him, and walked straight to their table.”

Hernando angled his body so he could smile at Kala. “Your Wolfgang stood up for Lito, a complete stranger, and fought for him.” Kala flushed when he described Wolfgang as hers, and when she looked at him in the seat to her left, all he did was stare back and take a drink from his beer. “He asked the man what the hell his problem was, and when the man punched him, Wolfgang fought back with such fearlessness and ferocity.” Hernando shook his head in awe as he recalled the memory. “He was almost kicked out of the premises. But what amazed me was how willing he was to protect Lito.”

“It probably had something to do with their birthday connection,” Daniela winked at Hernando. She took Felix’s hand in hers and stroked the skin with her thumb. “Kala, it was surreal. It was like Wolfgang could sense that Lito was in trouble! I’m still freaking out about it to this day.”

“Wait,” Kala looked at Lito with a confused expression, “you and Wolfgang have the same birthday?”

Daniela laughed. “Honey, they all have the same birthday,” she gestured to the group at the other end of the table with her free hand.

“Really?” Kala asked with wide eyes. “So, wait, how did you guys meet everyone else?”

“Well,” Lito cleared his throat, “Will was in the exact same restaurant with Riley, and when he heard the commotion between Wolfgang and the restaurant owner about the fight, Will calmed the situation down. He’s an officer at the Chicago Police Department and he called in back-up officers to escort the man who threatened me out of the restaurant for disturbing the patrons.” Lito looked at Will and smiled at him as he was deep in conversation with Capheus and Riley. “He apologised to us on behalf of the man for ruining our night, and he thanked Wolfgang too. Then he saw the slice of birthday cake on in front of me and he told us it was his and Riley’s birthdays as well.”

Hernando grabbed another slice of bread from the small basket. “I had never seen anything like it. They were so comfortable with each other – it was like seeing old friends at a reunion.”

“Wow.” Kala said with absolute wonder. _What were the chances of four people being in the exact same restaurant on their birthdays?_ Kala couldn’t keep up with the math, so she just shook her head with a disbelieving smile.

She tilted her head and motioned to the others. “And what about them? Were Sun, Nomi and Amanita or Capheus there too?”

Daniela shook her head. “No. We met Sun and Capheus through Will, and we knew Nomi through an online LGBTQ+ community page. She was extremely helpful in Lito’s decision to come out.”

“Yes,” Hernando gave Lito a quick peck on the lips, “we’re very grateful.”

This was too much information, even for Kala. “So let me get this straight,” she held up her hands and started counting with each finger, “Wolfgang, Lito, Will, Riley, Nomi, Capheus and Sun all have the same birthday? And that’s today?”

She looked at Wolfgang, who only gave her a knowing smirk.

Daniela rolled her eyes in good nature. “Hernando, Amanita and I call them the August 8 cluster. Every year, we all meet in a different city to celebrate. Though it’s hard to find gifts for all seven of them.” She sighed, “ _Ay_ , Dios mio, Kala you have no idea.”

“Well you’re going to have to add another present _and_ another city now, too.” Felix beamed at Kala and held up his bottle to her. Kala smiled back and lifted her wine glass to him in return.

Lito, Daniela and Hernando gasped simultaneously in shock, and turned to Kala. She shrugged and took a sip of her wine.

“Are you kidding me?!” Daniela squealed. “This is perfect!” She waved her hands to get Amanita’s attention, “Amanita! Our August 8 cluster is now complete!”

Amanita turned from her conversation with Nomi and asked, “What do you mean?”

“Today is also Kala’s birthday!” Daniela yelled out.

“What?!” The rest of the table ceased all their respective conversations and all looked at Kala with wide eyes. It was too quiet for Kala and she felt self-conscious at the unbidden attention, so she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down with both hands in her lap. Wolfgang grabbed one of her hands in his and gave it a supportive squeeze, and she gave him a soft smile.

Amanita was the first to jump out of her seat and run over to give Kala another hug. She peppered her face with kisses as she exclaimed, “Oh, Kala! Gorgeous, gorgeous, Kala! Happy birthday, dear!”

Then suddenly everyone crowded around her, reaching over shoulders and under each other to give her another hug, kiss on the cheek, or a pat on the head. They sung her a loud and off-key ‘Happy Birthday’, which made Kala cry with happiness because it was all so ridiculous and unreal.

“Stop,” she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, “it’s your birthdays too, you know.” They all cooed and awed at her, and there was another round of kisses and hugs among them. Kala had never felt such love – well, apart from her parents and Daya, of course. At the thought of them, she released a small melancholy sigh.

But Kala realised she wasn’t so upset anymore that she couldn’t celebrate her birthday with her family in India. She looked from side to side at the beaming faces of the wonderful people who had accepted her so easily into their tight-knit circle. She could feel the warmth and the kindness that emanated from them, and she knew that she would never be alone on her birthday.

She had another family of her own.


	11. part three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys so much for supporting me throughout the journey of this little fic. i love you all!

“Lito, where the fuck are you taking us?” Felix huffed, already exhausted from walking endless blocks to their mysterious destination after overindulging himself at dinner. The rest of the group expressed similar sentiments through a chorus of groans. Lito and Hernando had taken the liberty of arranging tonight’s celebration down to a tee. So far, they impressed the group with fine dining, but their night had only just begun.

Lito tutted back at him, “Patience is a virtue, my friends.” He turned around as he was walking to wink at Felix, who stuck his tongue out in retort.

They arrived at a suspicious looking building with a glowing neon sign that barely indicated its business. Lito did not look back at the others and walked through the entrance with a nod to the bouncer. Suddenly, the group’s mood had changed. They began to exclaim at Lito and Hernando with apologies for doubting their planning abilities. The club they had chosen was built underground, with a grand staircase that led to an open dance floor built in front of a massive stage.

From the top of the stairs, Lito stretched both hands over his head and yelled at the patrons of the club, “It’s our birthday!” and was met with a symphony of cheers and enthusiastic clapping. The group made their way down to the bar, where Lito placed an order of eight tequila birthday shots; a pint of beer for Felix; a margarita for Daniela; and two glass of wine for Amanita and Hernando.

“Tonight.” He held up his shot of tequila, and the others followed in gesture with their respective drinks. “Tonight my friends, we’re going to dance!”

Everyone rushed to the dance floor immediately after the first round of drinks, except Wolfgang, who remained behind and ordered more shots for himself. He sat alone on a booth and was content to observe the ambiance of the club. The music of the night was performed by a line-up of Latin bands, who wore colourful costumes that contrasted the dim lighting of the club’s interior. It was sophisticated, extravagant and simple in its tradition all at once – which encapsulated Lito and Hernando’s personalities.

Wolfgang looked over to the dance floor and saw the rest of his friends ( _excuse me_ , Amanita corrected him, _the August cluster and co., thank you very much_ ) holding hands and dancing around in a circle. Their laughter carried over to where Wolfgang sat, and he smiled at the sound.

He saw Felix standing at the bar, leaning over the counter with a big smile on his face to shout his order of drinks. Daniela was wrapped around him, her chest pressed against his back and Wolfgang could see her muttering sweet nothings into Felix’s ear. Almost immediately, Felix retreated from the bar and turned to her with wide eyes and a slack jaw. He took her face and pulled her in for a fierce kiss, and he grabbed her hand as he walked away – his drinks left abandoned on the countertop.

Wolfgang scoffed in amusement and shook his head fondly. _Way to go, Felix._ He lifted up his shot in a toast, and downed it in one gulp. He winced at the sting of the vodka and immediately grabbed a lime wedge from the bowl in front of him, sucking on it hard to get rid of the taste.

He saw a bright flash of purple from the corner of his eyes, and didn’t need to turn to figure out who it was.

“You’re seriously sitting out here by yourself?” Kala asked with a teasing tone from behind him. She planted herself in front of him and pointed at the tray of empty shot glasses.

“Hello.” He smiled at her.

Kala smiled back. “Would you like to dance?”

“I don’t really dance to this kind of music.” He gave her a weary smile.

“Come on,” she laced her fingers through his and tried to drag him out of the chair. He rolled his eyes with a smile and obliged her, because, honestly, there was simply no point in lying to himself. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her.

Dancing with Kala was like second nature to Wolfgang. He found it simple enough to respond to her movements. He somehow knew exactly when to step back as she surged her body forward, and soon, the electricity between them attracted the attention of the club patrons.

Kala leaned her forehead into his. She closed her eyes and grinned at him. “You’re very good for someone who doesn’t dance to this kind of music.”

“I try,” he shrugged. He nudged his forehead against hers and in response she opened her eyes to glare at him, but the effect was lost as she laughed loudly. Wolfgang decided then that he would do whatever he could to hear that sound forever.

He twirled her around with one hand, and as the song was nearing its end, he caught her with both arms and dipped her to the ground. Kala’s laugh stopped and she had a serious expression on her face. They were breathing hard as they stared at each other, and the claps of the onlookers that formed the circle around them were like white noise. When another lively beat played, the circle was broken and everyone was dancing in their own space.

He slowly pulled Kala back up and she fell forward into him once their bodies were upright. Her hands, which were still gripping his arms, moved up to wrap around his neck. He shifted his hold on her so his hands were resting on her waist, and smiled down at her.

They moved their heads slowly towards each other until their lips met, and Wolfgang closed his eyes at the feeling of his lips touching hers. _Finally_ , he sighed. He pulled back to breathe and tilted his head to kiss her harder, and she let out an involuntary gasp and ran her fingers through his hair.

He pressed her body even closer to his and she responded by tugging hardly on the hairs on the nape of his head. A small grunt escaped from Wolfgang and one of his hands wandered down to squeeze the curve of her backside. Kala broke the kiss as she giggled into his mouth.

“Happy birthday to us,” she said with a bright smile, and a heavy breath as she pulled back.

He also struggled to get his breathing in control. But he was smiling wide as he caressed her cheek lovingly. And there it was. The look Felix had told him about, reflected clearly on her face. He looked into her eyes for a moment before saying, “To us.”

**Author's Note:**

> a series of events which bring two people closer together AKA the neighbour au no one asked for. but since i am in love with kala and wolfgang's dynamic, and because i will be forever bitter that netflix cancelled sense8 after that season 2 cliffhanger - i will write as many fics and AUs as i can to keep the memory alive. #BringBackSense8


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